Reign
by kygirl101
Summary: At a young age, Kurogane woke up in the cold country of Celes with no memory, only to be shipped off to the castle, where he is to train as a knight. That training including, but not limited to,dealing with the young - annoyingidiotic - Prince. AU SPOILRS
1. Chapter 1

_So...I really don't know where this idea came from. Or where I got the ending. It...actually, I didn't like the ending, but I liked the rest of it! A lot! So, enjoy this! Un-beta'ed_

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**..::Reign::..**

..:8:..

"Are you new here?" a voice behind him asks behind him, and Kurogane stopped his frantic searching in the snow to turn around and peer up. He can't really see - the warrior's mask is too big and keeps falling over his eyes and twisting - but the crunching of boots moving around in his own snowy footprints alerts him to another person's presence.

"What?"

"I asked 'are you new here?'. Are you new in this world? Are you deaf now, too?" There was a little chuckle, and the brunette yanked up his mask by the lip covering his face.

"No!" he insisted, glaring at a pale blond child who looked about his age, dressed in powder blue coat with fluffy white hem, and who smiled slightly. Red eyes narrowed, and Kurogane made to stand up to show up this smiling twig just how much taller he was than him! That would show him!!

The snow was slippery, though. More so than it looked, and just as both feet were neatly planted underneath his body, the soles of his shoes hit a patch of icy turf and flew out from under him. Kurogane landed on his back with a muffled 'thump', and sat there, dazed, for a few seconds before the laughing started up again - not polite, hidden-behind-hand giggles, but full blown laughing.

"Haven't you ever played in the snow?" the blond asked, bent over a bit and using his large blue eyes to take in the blossoming blush on the other boys face. "You don't even have the right shoes on - you _must_ not be from around here."

"What's that supposed to -"

"What's your name?"

The boy blinked, unsure of how to handle being cut off by this twig of a kid. Biting back a scathing remark, the tanned child narrowed his eyes. "Kurogane."

"That's a funny name." The child wrinkled his nose in distaste. "Long, too."

"No it's not!"

"I know!" The blond child held up a finger, covered by what looked like elbow-high white gloves. "I'll call you Kuro-poi!"

"That's not my name."

"Kuro-pii?"

"No!"

"Kuro-chi?"

"No, none of these!"

"Kuro-woof?"

"Absolutely not!!!"

"Kuro-buro?"

"No nicknames!" He shouted, standing (without slipping this time) and holding up the wooden sword that the older court guards had sent him out into the snowy courtyard to practice stances with in a threatening manner and glowering. "I don't like them. Besides, I don't even know your name yet."

The child grinned, his eyes closing as the corners of his mouth flicked upward. "Fai. Fai Flourite."

Crimson eyes flared open and a tight-set snarl melted into an open gap. "You're the king's son?"

Fai's smile seemed to falter for a moment. "...Yes?"

"You're not supposed to answer a question with a question, dummy. Are you some kind of moron?"

"Tsk, tsk, Kuro-chi! That's no way to talk with royalty."

Kurogane rolled his eyes in a _you-don't-act-like-it_ way and glanced back at the snow. If he didn't find the necklace he was supposed to ferry between his teachers...

"Are you looking for this?" Fai extended an arm (the other arm, also covered with a long glove) and, from his clenched fist dangled a long silver chain, the gold-encrusted dragon on the end causing the necklace to swing like a pendulum. Again, Kurogane's mouth dropped.

"Give that to me!" he demanded, launching for the piece of jewelry and missing, ending up sprawled in the snow again.

"Naw, I don't think I want to," Fai grinned in a faux-ponder tone, making to pocket the chain and walk away.

"Wait, no - Flourite!" The blond paused, and Kurogane - familiar with various forms of childhood extortion - ground out, "What do you want?"

"...Why is your skin so dark?" Fai asked, still grinning as he withdrew his fingers from his pocket and spun the delicate silver chain around his fingers. "No one I know has skin like yours. Nor eyes. And you're not from around here, obviously...If you can tell me why that, I'll give this back to you..."

Kurogane ground his teeth, glaring up from his spot on the ground. Fai continued to smile, and after a fourteen second attempt at a stare-down, the brunette sighed, looking down with the puffing breath of exhalation. "You're stupid. I don't know where I came from."

"How can you not know that?" Fai asked in a sing-song voice.

In all honesty, Kurogane couldn't come up with an answer that he figured would entertain Fai enough to make the blond (Prince?) give him back the necklace. His story seemed rather...bland. One day, he just woke up on his back in a small darkly lit room. Upon getting up, he found various sets of new cloths in his size, and the family living there greeted him with familiarity, although when he asked their names, they had waved him off and said it didn't matter. And then, two weeks after this, he was suddenly uprooted and packed off to become a 'Court Guard' under the careful supervision of the adult guards. He'd been there for three months, and had only spoken to three people with more than a casual greeting: Seishiro, his assigned teacher, Syaoran, his room mate, and now Fai - the apparent Prince he was sworn to protect.

"I just don't know!" he insisted.

Fai seemed to consider this answer, ignoring the steady stare. The necklace was still in his hand, twisted around his fingers. A light wind blew loose snowflakes off of the high wall that surrounded the frozen courtyard with its icy fountain and dead trees, and the chain was buffeted, swinging once...twice...three times.

The pendant made a crunching sound as it fell in the snow, and Fai turned on his heels. Snatching up the gold pendant and clutching it to his chest before standing (all this time on his knees in the cold and mushy snow would give him a harsh cold, and then all his tasks would be just harder) and watching the retreating back.

"What, that's it?!?" he bellowed after the blond - for some reason, this other boy was stupid enough in Kurogane's eyes that it didn't quite seem to stick that his word could have him put to death. Somehow, the boy didn't seem to want to punish this new stranger, though. Perhaps it was the amusing reaction he could get, or the strange, no-holds-barred way that the brunette talked to him.

It made Fai smile. "Good answer, Kurgie-poo~!"

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_So, the end of chapter one. If you liked, please review!! It makes me feel better about writing' in general (and it also makes me update faster)_


	2. Chapter 2

_Aw! I received so many nice reviews on this story!! Ya'll are lovely, darlings! Absoloutly lovely!!! -*throws hearts at*- I hope you still enjoy this, although they aren't eight anymore...Now they're eleven._

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..::Reign::..

..:11:..

Silken dresses draped fittingly over well-endowed women, finely woven jackets and cloaks hang around the men, and the large room that is filled with mingling upperclass socialites is strangely warm, especially when one looks out the high windows and sees the thick billows of wet snow slapping against the glass panes. A long, mahogany table with thin engravings laced with gold paint forms an open box around the outer rim of the room and is laden with food. High-backed chairs are aligned along the side of the table farthest from the large double doors, and only the most elite of the elite are seated there (on the King's right and left hand side). But by now, most of the chairs are empty, as are most of the fine wine bottles as adults - buzzing with the heat of the indoors and slight alcohol - intermingle on the open tiled floor.

This was a fun, normal event, and only held twice a year. To an adult, maybe. But to a child, events such as these, he was more often than not one of the only children (it seemed the elegant and wealthy were not concerned with having kids - the all-over magic of Celes Country kept them from aging for long enough to allow the procrastination to be acceptable) and he often found himself tired before people were going to leave, giving him the option to either draw attention to his leaving or fall asleep in his own glass.

So there he was, long and slender fingers tapping on the small space between his fine china plate and half-empty glass of allowed wine (he preferred it to the food here; it was much more delicious than any solid nourishment here), resting his elbow on the table and cradling his his cheek in his upturned palm. He was not usually an anxious child, nor irritable, but it was the elongated moments that seem to draw out forever like these that made even the most mature and weathered sides of Fai regress into that of and eleven year old. Oh, how he longed for a distraction.

Casually, his eyes averted from the self-playing musical instruments and to the high windows. All he can see through the panes is the warped visions of the outer night sky, marred with flecks of melted snowflakes, and he smiles. Just a little bit.

Wind nor weather deterred, he knew that any and all palace guards were outside, or somewhere close to a door. There was no real threat to Celes, or the castle, but it was expected of them when the higher Ashura of the surrounding lands gathered in one place for evening entertainment. And that meant that the blond "prince"'s favorite guard-in-training was also outside, possibly freezing, just to uphold Celes' noble image. How valiant.

"Fai-kun?" asked a girlish voice, and the child turned to see possible one of the only people even close to his age (this princess was nine) standing beside his chair. He favored her with a smile.

"Oh, hello, Sakura-chan."

She smiled back. "Fai-kun," she stated matter-of-factly, "My parents are drunk."

He continued to smile, not even turning his head to look at the crowd as he observed, "Most of them are, by now."

"Does Celes have a library?" Sakura asked, her arms wrapped protectively around a sleeping white creature with a blue jewel embedded in its forehead (Fai had seen one of these before - it had been black, with a red jewel, and had been a gift to Ashura from the Dimensional Witch) but he liked this one better; it was just cuter.

"Of course," the blond assured. "It has four, actually."

"Can we go see one?"

He smiled a knowing smile. Princess Sakura had come from the Clow Country, where things were known and fabled for being real one second and gone the next. Everything from people to memories were subject to the winds of chance, should destiny choose to unravel the threads of time. Perhaps, this time, the Clow Country books had disappeared. Fai nodded. "Of course."

Together, the two slipped from the large room, into the considerably colder and darker passageway, and tread the halls quietly, alert for any trace of a person, hypersensitive of being caught, even if they were doing nothing really wrong.

Wooden door after wooden door was passed, and eventually, as they got closer and closer to the front of the castle (and the only library that guests and the country's underlings had access to within the stone walls), the small hints of other people's conversations began to drift toward them - these words hushed, and forcedly quiet, and young, and...

"Kuro-poi!" Fai exclaimed as he and Princess Sakura rounded the last corner that opened up onto the last stretch of hall (the library's ceiling-high doors were a little to their immediate left, and the indoor sentry was sum thirty feet from that).

The boys at the other end of the hall jumped (Kurogane, Syaoran, and two more that looked like brothers) and spun to face them, pointing their faux weapons made of wood at the intruders.

"Oh, oh," Fai glossed over, holding up both hands in a sign of surrender as he strolled confidently toward the group, Sakura trailing behind him hesitantly. "We haven't done anything; we just came to visit the library."

Defensive stances dropping a bit, one of the two brothers looked pointedly at Syaoran. "Is that your Prince?" The brown-haired boy nodded, and the stranger (who looked to be at least fifteen) looked to Fai again. "I thought all the aristocracy's children were supposed to attend those parties until their parents left."

The other snorted a bit, in general agreement.

"Aw, but we got bored," Fai said in a tone that was neither whine nor sensible reasoning. "Plus, the bonus of being social aristocracy's children is being able to do whatever we like without being bound by restrictions. Isn't that right, Kuro-poi?"

Syaoran managed to turn his laugh into a cough, but the other two (who, Fai just realized, were dressed in long dark cloaks and black clothing underneath, and had the strangest yellow eyes...) didn't appear to even try to hide their scathing chuckles. Even under his tanned skin, the blond could see Kurogane's ears turn the faintest shade of pink.

"Aww, Kurgie-chii is embarrassed," Fai continued with his taunting, much to everyone's (save the target of such teasing) amusement.

"Shuddup!" Kurogane snapped harshly as Sakura's titters joined the other's laughter. "I am not!"

"You're face is all flushed, and you're getting mad~"

"Anyone would get mad with you around!"

"Oh, so cold!"

"I -" the young warrior opened his mouth to continue the rally, but seemed to think better of it and leaned away, attempting to force his face to return to normal. Crossing his arm, Kurogane carefully averted his crimson red eyes and allowed his wooden sword to bounce against his thigh.

"Aw, come on, Kuro-cutie~" the young mage coaxed, sidling past the three guards in training and poking the tallest among them in the slowly developing bicep. "I didn't mean anything."

Kurogane doesn't answer. Fai feels himself wilt - just a bit- but knows that two can play at that game, and turns to introduce himself to the two strangers he does not know (they turn out to indeed be brothers, twins even, named Subaru and Kamui), not acknowledging the other again unless slipping his various nicknames into their conversations. And finally, after the extensive and entirely new name, 'Kuro-woof-bark-poi', the warrior snapped and turned to cuff the mage upside the head.

Fai whimpered, and wailed, and whined, but smiled at having garnered a reaction.

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_Well...yeah...That's all I gotta say...o.o_


	3. Chapter 3

_So...mah boys come of age!!! Enjoy this chapter~_

**..::Reign::..**

.:14:.

It is the warmest time of the year. The sun still reflects off of the ground, but it is partially frozen dew droplets that pepper the grey cobblestone of the courtyard. There are even a few leaves adoring the inside plants, and fires are not an ever constant within the rooms anymore. This, unanimously, is everyone's favorite time of the year. Women would bring their children outside to enjoy what little weak sunlight made its way through the clouds, and young girls would cluster outside to watch the young men of Celes go through whatever spring time trials they were assigned. Like, for instance, the Trials Of Sword.

Metal clashed against metal, the sharp clangs causing the people in the audiences to flinch or else stare on in awe as sweat sheeted teenagers lunged at each other, striking their blades in midair. Despite the violent attacks they seem to be attempting, they are all smiling, even laughing and taking the half-serious blows as if it were nothing. Because, truth was, this was a celebration.

Each fourteen-year-old within the castle walls had received their tasks; the tasks they would be partaking in for the rest of their lives. The Scribes, the Cooks, the Handmaids, the Caretakers, and everything of the sort. Including the Guards. And what better way for adrenaline-fused teenagers to show off their achievements by mock fights.

Slow, even steps were overshadowed by the war-cries and grunts as blows made tremors run up and down the boys' arms. Tilting his head, a blue-eyed boy scanned the crowd, peering over most of the gathered onlookers heads, looking and looking until his gaze alighted on the dark hair and olive skin that stood out in a crowd of pale skin and light hair. He smiled and easily maneuvered through the bodies, barely even taking notice of the swings and clacks.

Raising a hand, Fai sharply poked Kurogane directly between the shoulder blades, causing the brunette boy's posture to seize up and whirl around, hand flying to the hilt of his sheathed sword and a murderous gleam in his eyes.

"Ah! You seem awful used to that sword, already, Kuro-blade! So violent!"

Eyes still narrowed, the taller boy forced himself to release the hilt. "You shouldn't sneak up on people, Flourite."

"I didn't think it would get me killed," Fai pouted, his blue eyes turning from Kurogane to the current pair of teens engaged in combat. "Is that supposed to be fun?"

"Fun? Of course not! That, moron, is a display of skill and aptitude! We guards must take our jobs seriously; we don't _play_ like this for_ fun_."

"So it is fun!"

Kurogane opened his mouth to tell the blond off again, and just as words began to transmit from his brain to his mouth, there was a resounding screech as one of the sparring boy's swords sliced down the other's blade, knocking the still shiny and new weapon onto the cobblestone. This mini battle was over, as the cheers and wolf-whistles of approval, as well as 'boo's of discouragement for the loser.

Sill peering at the ring in the middle of the circle, Fai cocked his head again. "Are you going to fight, Kuro-pup? I'd like to see what you can do with that sword."

Crimson eyes rolled dramatically, and the already muscled chest was crossed with equally muscled arms. "Why should I?"

"Why shouldn't you?"

"Everyone here already knows that I'm the best. I'm the strongest; even Seishiro-san said so."

Fai looked back at him, still smiling innocently. "So you're better than everyone here?"

"Damn straight."

A moment of silence. "We've never fought, Kuro-richi..."

Ears that were close by enough to hear perked up, and the audience turned to stare at their prince and the idol. Kurogane gawked - just a little bit. Did the blond moron even realize what he was suggesting!?! That he, the resident bad-ass of the metaphorical playground, would spar with the rich upperclassman!?!? Who, plus, had no strict combat training. That would be murder! And suicide by proxy - he'd be dead if he so much as harmed a hair of Fai's head! That was a given!

"No. No, absolutely not -"

But Fai was already moving toward the middle of the grouping, the wide birth for these little matches to take place in, and he had seemingly conjured up a tall, white staff with an intricate head. The blond paused after his supposed weapon was comfortably in his hands, leaning on the wood and waiting with that taunting, teasing, stupid smile that somehow managed to make Kurogane's blood boil. "Coming..." his eyes narrowed. For once, serious. "Kurogane?"

Hadn't...hadn't the nicknames been the things that bothered him? Wouldn't it be more reasonable that if Fai had called him 'Kuro-runo' or something similar that he would be more likely to stride forward and make to chop the blond's head off? So...why was it that the other calling him by his name - something that had been mutilated so many times by the prince that it didn't sound _normal_ anymore - was enough to incite him forward, easily swinging Sōhi around his sides, slowing off his agility with the sword.

Around them, people 'ooh'ed and 'aww'ed, and a couple of them sprinted from the courtyard to find others of importance to witness this spectacle.

Fai seemed unfazed as he was approached, and continued to smile, leaning against his staff as if it were a tree trunk. The thin twig didn't seem like it should be able to support the weight of the teen, but it stood straight and strong. "Hyuu~" Fai let out innocently. "So we're going to fight, Kuro-pip? I've never done this before - are there rules?"

"None."

"How fun!"

It was over in three blows.

One - Kurogane swung, Fai ducked, and as Sōhi connected with the wood of the staff, the blond pulled the base of his weapon out from under the blade.

Two - Kurogane attempted to recover, pulling back for another strike only to receive a blow to the chest, pushing the air out from his lungs. He stumbled, caught unaware and nearly fell.

Three - one more push, the base of Fai's staff placed strategically in the middle of Kurogane's chest to send him sprawling. And when he looked up, the intricately carved other end of the wooden poll just beneath his chin. When he looked up farther, there was that stupid, idiotic grin on his face - again.

"Looks like I win, Kuro-kun!"

-

_Fai pwns. We know this. And plus, he claimed he could beat Kuro-poi in the anime, so it's about time he finally did~! Anyway, reviews are loved, as is love, because I am a shameless attention whore! Eheh~^^_


	4. Chapter 4

_OMG! Kurogane get's laid!!! ...Kidding, kidding, but we get a hint of sexuality in this chapter. Enjoy~_

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**.:Reign:.**

.:17:.

" - And do you know what Ashura-san taught me?!" Fai continued to ramble, sprawled languidly across the (lumpy, thin-sheeted, kinda poky - like it was stuffed with straw) mattress in the Guard's quarters, flipping through a large book of definitive divination and interpreting the signs without really paying attention to it. "Beyond Celes, there are mountain ranges that harbor all sorts of ingredients for potions, although even if all of them were harvested, the appropriate source of magical energy they exuded would not be enough to save even an old man with a cold without being enhanced by a person's own magical abilities? Oh, and the amethyst prevents drunken-ness if purple, but if it's in a different light and is displayed as blueish-green, it's a sign of ill fortune and sickness?"

Kurogane sat on the floor, back to the bedpost farthest from Fai, sword in lap and sharpening stone in hand. With bold, smooth strokes, he scratched the rock over the edge, examining the blade after each brush for the finite sharpness he had achieved. Generally, he had been ignoring the mage that had monopolized his bed; letting Fai talk randomly about his 'exciting' adventure to the outskirts of Celes with the king, and the lesson he had received about various potions and rocks and their benefits. He, of course, as a member of the royal guard, had no use for these plants and stones, but he imagined that perhaps the other did, when the lord of the land sent him to other places to fix things with his powers.

_Shing._

" - and Jade and Emerald -"

_Shing._

" - and when there's a solar eclipse -"

_Shing._

" - Exorcisms are most viable -"

_Shing._

Silence.

_Shing._

Kurogane paused, and turned around to make sure the mage hadn't...choked or something, only to find intense blue eyes staring at him, slenderly pointed chin cupped in his hands and a slightly playful smile that had not lost it's childish nature in the age of adolescence dancing across his lips. Somehow, though calm and peaceful and innocent, that gaze made the hairs on the back of the brunette's neck stand on edge. How was it that out of all the people in Celes, he had managed to attract the weirdest of them all?

"What!?!" Kurogane demanded.

Fai chuckled. "Have I ever shown you my tattoo, Kuro-chii?"

Slightly taken aback, Kurogane narrowed his eyes suspiciously. The magician had mentioned the marking before, but he had never, ever offered to show it to him (as far as he knew, the only person who had ever seen it was Fai himself and Ashura, who had apparently placed it) and Kurogane had never asked to see it. "You know I haven't."

"Hmm, I guess you're right..." Fai rolled onto his back, head dangling off the edge of the mattress, making it so that his hair fell completely away from his head, although he still peered at Kurogane interestedly. "...Would you like to?"

He could not think of an answer. No, I do not want to see any more of you than I already do. Yes, I want you to show me your secrets. No, I don't want to know anything more about you. Yes, I want you to take your cloths off. No, I don't want to. Yes, go ahead.

Two minutes of silence, the inner workings of Kurogane's mind working furiously, knowing that he'd have to open up a small part of himself, too, as compensation. He continued to glare, attempting to give no indication of a still undecided answer, but it seemed, somehow, his schooled expression slipped, because Fai grinned and sat up. With one swift movement (before Kurogane could protest) his cloak was unlaced and shrugged off.

"Wait - mage -!!!"

And then Fai's hands flew to the lower hem of his shirt and easily pulled it over his head, exposing milky smooth skin, pale and sinewy abs, and outstanding collar bones. Blond hair was slightly ruffled, and was peppered lightly over his chest in a peach-fuzz type of way. But...it was bland.

"I don't see any tattoo," Kurogane growled, sulking a bit at his protests not being heeded.

But Fai continued to smile, even if now...it looked kinda pained. "That's because it's on my back."

Crawling on his knees, the blond turned around, and as he did so, the milky skin continued, but became...marred. Thick, yet intricate lines were traced along the pale expanse of shoulder blades and spine. It seemed glossy, shiny, much more like fresh ink on parchment rather than ink under the skin, and seemed to catch the light. It didn't seem like words, nor any recognizable symbol. It looked...ancient and old and practically radiated power. Something about it made Kurogane want to touch it, trace the lines, familiarize himself with the symbol. But he never would.

"It's a binding spell," Fai said quietly, flexing a bit.

Kurogane's eyes jumped back up from the base of the print (obscured, as it seemed, by the line of his pants) as the blond's head twisted around to look him in the eyes. "Oh?" the warrior asked, and was relieved to find his voice was completely calm. "What's it binding?"

Fai shrugged. "My magic. Ashura-san bound my magic."

Crimson eyes widened. "Why?"

"....Do you really not remember anything about your home, Kuro-kun?"

Clever, Kurogane thought. But over the years, he had come to expect nothing less from the prince. "I told you - nothing."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Lucky..."

He had to resist a massive eye roll, and slid Sōhi back into its leather sheath before moving forward into a kneeling position and glaring openly and distastefully at Fai. "You've said that before."

"I have?" Fai seemed generally surprised.

"Yes. Why?"

"Touche."

"Answer the goddamned question, mage. You always seem intently difficult for no good reason."

Fai stiffened, his eyes purposefully adverting eye contact as he reached for his shirt again. His mouth, for once, did not move. He just shook his head.

Kurogane sighed dramatically and, faced away as the blond pulled on his shirt again. He did not pick up his sword again, simply glaring at the opposite wall as the rustling of fabric sounded behind him. There wasn't a careless '_fump_' of Fai flopping carelessly down on his mattress as he expected, and soon enough there was a hand on his shoulder.

"Do you want me to leave, Kuro-chii?" He hated that tone - it was hurt and serious, and THAT was uncharacteristic for royalty in general.

Kurogane snorted dismissively. "Do whatever you want."

Silence.

_Fump._

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_After re-working the ending of this fic just a tad bit, I am pleased to say that I am pretty happy with it! ^^ I hope the rest of you will be, too! Stay tuned~!_


	5. Chapter 5

_So...I figured Halloween would be a good time for an update. Before I run off to buy the last, tiniest bit of my Bunny Costume! ^^ Anyway, enjoy the nonsensical fluff goin' on here!_

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**..::Reign::..**

.:21:.

He was kicking the rocks. Violently. And it didn't mater how many stubbed his toe before they went flying into the air - he kept on kicking. Behind him, low, whimsical 'hyuu's were emitted at regular intervals; quiet and tentative, as if the person/music box was trying to piss him off while also trying to waltz around any major land mines.

They had been traveling like this for thirteen hours straight - the first solo assignment Fai had been sent on that was a double assignment, as in it required his own, personal guard. And it pissed Kurogane all the more off that it had been the mage who had requested him come. He must had clearly communicated his irritability, for Fai had chosen to remain reasonably silent for the entire trip thus far; a safe precaution, if the guard did think so himself.

But, of course, that would only last so long.

"Are you mad that I made you come with me, Kuro-rin?" Fai asked sweetly, suddenly deciding he wanted to speed up and walk next to the other young man, his demeanor practically skipping when compared to the grumbling trot his companion had chosen.

Kick. "Do you even have to ask that?"

"Oh, mad, mad, Kuro-woof!" Fai scolded slightly, waggling his finger disapprovingly. "If you continue with that attitude, the people in Koryo are going to think that you don't want to be there. Then they might get violent."

"Let them," Kurogane grouched, and he stopped kicking pebbles in favor of fisting his hand around the hilt of his blade. "I will cut them."

"Hyuu~" (Kurogane had long learned that the mage couldn't whistle; this...sound was his compensation.) "So eager! I hope you're in a better mood by the time we get there." Fai folded his arms behind his head and allowed his companion's angry stride over take his own.

"Hm..." the brunette growled. He kept imagining countless Koryo people falling under his blade if they attempted to harm either of them, and for some reason, he could not shake the mental image of himself standing on a mountain of dead bodies, victorious, yet crying and clinging to a bloodied, female corpse...

Suddenly, thin arms were encircling his chest from behind (it must have been a smart move on Fai's part - Kurogane was less likely to slash at him with his sword if he was pressed to his back) and what felt like a cheek or chin was pressed into the plane of his back where shoulder blades melded into spine, nuzzling softly. Nuzzling! There was a tight constriction around his pecks, and for a second, it felt as if Fai were attempting to kill him, squeeze the life out of his body. But...it was just a hug.

Hugs were still unnatural, and thrashing a little, Kurogane successfully dislodged Fai sending him propelled backwards several feet before the blond ungracefully fell onto his backside in the dust. Clutching the hilt of his sword, Kurogane drew he blade half-way and whirled around to face the blond mage.

"What the hell was that!!?!?!?" Kurogane demanded, any patients he had developed from all the years of the blond's antics shriveling up and dying.

Fai pouted. "Kuro-sama, it was just a hug. To lighten your mood - it always worked for me and Chii."

"You're a _moron_."

Fai shrugged playfully and drew up one of his knees, still sitting square in the middle of the road. Kurogane continued to glower at him.

"Get up! We need to get going."

"I can't."

"Like hell you can't -"

"I sprained my ankle, Kuro-rough. When you pushed me." He gestured to the extended foot, which was indeed being held at a slightly awkward angle. "I can't walk like this."

"Uggg... Can't you, like, mend it? With your magic?" The brunette suggested sourly, hands finally abandoning his sword in order to cross defensively across his chest.

Fai shook his head. "I need to conserve my magic for the people at Koryo - they'll need my help."

"They aren't gonna get your help if you don't get there. How much magic can it take?!"

"...I'm no good at healing spells...They take more concentration and that takes more energy." For a second, Fai's voice wavered, and Kurogane's eyebrows shot into his forehead, but then the one in the middle of the road was smiling broadly, and waving his hands dismissively. "Can't you just...I dunno, carry me, Kuro-push?"

That nickname way laying the guilt on a little thickly, the warrior couldn't help but think. Fai giggled, closing his eyes; he didn't seem to expect Kurogane to even respond, let alone comply with his request...That, in itself, gave the taller man at least some sort of advantage...

Stepping quickly, and before the blond had even the chance to open his eyes, Kurogane looped one muscled arm under the mage's armpits. It was effortless to lift the young man, really - he should eat more, but everyone in Celes seemed to eat little to nothing - even when he flailed and kicked a bit. "Would you stop moving?!"

Immediately, Fai froze, gazing almost fearfully at Kurogane. "Kuro-up, I was only joking. I could limp."

"You'd look even stupider if you limped." With a little heave, the prince of Celes went up and was easily slung over the warrior's broad shoulder. "Now shut up."

Fai laughed a bit. "Kuro-burly is so friendly - even if he doesn't want to admit it." He used his left hand to affectionately pat Kurogane's lower back (the only part of him he could really reach when at this angle) and continued to chuckle.

Now, it was useless to tell him to shut up.

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_There's one more chapter - the one that I've rewriten fifty friggin' times and STILL dun like - and the little epilogue thingy to go, so keep styaing tuned my lovely readers! ^^ Much love, and have a happy holiday~! _

_Oh, and has anyone noticed the age of CLAMP's lovely birds going up by three each chapter and then it suddenly jumps to four in this one (eight to eleven, eleven to fourteen, fourteen to seventeen and then seventeen to twenty-one)? xD Just a fun fact~ Reviews make up for any houses not giving out candy!!_


	6. Chapter 6

_Here you go - the last real chapter. Stay tuned for the epilogue afterward! **SPOILERS FOR THE CELES ARC AND FAI'S PAST!!**_

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**..::Reign::..**

.:24:.

The world is darker now - dark and depressed. The pure white snow has been stained with the blood of thousands, the corpses were freezing and would remain frozen forever as statues - reminders. Everyone is dead. Everyone is gone. The people of the castle, the villagers, the people from neighboring kingdoms. Everyone is dead and gone...Except for Fai.

His footsteps are shaky the second he exits the room with the pool, and as soon as the door closes upon Chii and a sleeping Ashura, his knees give out and the damp blond must lean against the wall for support.

He feels like crying. He feels like he wants to die. He wants to die.

His staff hangs loosely from one hand, and clatters onto the ground, but it does not snap. Instead, it clatters onto the ground, bouncing a couple times on the chilled marble before it skids to a stop somewhere in the depths of the Castle of Celes' shadows. Fai does not want to go looking for it - he doesn't want to find a bloodied corpse of someone he knew well (for he knew _everyone_ well) laying next to a tool that the king had used in that person's demise. He does not want to feel guilty again. He does not want to remember.

Sakura.

Her pet Mokona.

Syaoran.

The cooks.

The maids.

Even those vampire twins from one of the distant cities that he'd only ever met at that feast.

And, most of all, he didn't want to remember Kurogane.

Fai cried into his dirty, bloodstained palms profusely. It felt good - to sob and wail and whine and hiccup and ultimately let out every pent up frustration he felt at the world in one go. The sounds echoed, bouncing off the walls like a sort of sick amplification of grief and death and destruction. A sadistic part of the blond revels in it while the rest crumples and cries harder.

At first, he think's it is his ears playing tricks on him - making his own sounds that of someone else's; making his gasps for air into someone else's footfalls. Second, he thinks that his eyes are playing him to fool, showing him the last person he'd ever expect to see alive in front of him (blood stained, haggard, panic-stricken and horrified, but alive). Third, his senses, telling him he's being held tightly and that there is the musty smell of sweat and dust clinging to the hair that ruffles the side of his face.

Last, his mouth, heart and mind betray him, and he's grasping onto the shoulders of this must-be-fake-Kurogane, clinging violently in a sort of animalistic desperation that he'd felt only once (before Ashura had rescued him from Valeria) and gushing, "It's my fault - I killed them. I killed them all. I couldn't stop him - I didn't...didn't even know. It's all my fault. I am...I am a horrible person. I should die, too."

There's no reply, save for the constriction of muscly forearms around his shoulders, and that crumples the last of Fai's mental dam - the one that holds back the emotions - more efficiently than any tirade of insults and accusations could have. He snaps, fingers curling into fists and pounding mercilessly against a seemingly unaffected Kurogane's chest. His tattoo feels like it's on fire as white-hot tendrils of a smoky-liquidly-flames snake their way around, over his body and constrict before exploding off the two bodies, buffeting them like a harsh breeze. And this time, when Fai's mouth opens, it is not a cry, but a scream.

"He was using me!!"

And then he crumples.

The seconds tick by - time has always run funny here.

"Mage..."

There is no response.

"Hey - mage. C'mon. You gotta tell me what happened to the King. Is he dead?"

Fai shakes his head. "No...no...I put him in a long sleep - a hibernation....But he'll break out of it - he's powerful enough to."

Hands released his shoulders, only to grasp his wrist. "Don't be an idiot, then. We need to get out of here - now! Where...where's Chii?"

Fai shakes his head harder. "No. No, Chii's with Ashura. I made her swear to watch over him and tell me when he's awoken."

"Then, lets go. We can...we can go to Oto country, or something."

"It's no use! If we stay, he'll sense our presence the moment he wakes up. In fact, he probably can right now. We have to...we have to...we have to leave." The hand on his wrist tightened, and Fai flinched. "Please - listen to me Kurogane - we need to leave. Now!"

"I won't leave. I need to make sure there aren't any more survivors!" Kurogane bristled, indignant and prideful. Harshly, attempting to make his point and draw the blond mage to his spectrum, the warrior yanked the other's wrist until Fai was close enough for him to hold around the shoulders again - but the prince quickly pulled away.

"There aren't any - I know! Please, don't be a valiant hero. He'll kill you!"

"This is my country -"

"Oh, please! You're not even from here! It's like our world kidnapped you from yours of its own accord - you owe Celes nothing! You've gotta - please, come with me; leave with me!" Purple and blue accented Fai in glowing, radiating magic that rustled his hair and set Kurogane on edge. He was eager, frightened and scared. And he wanted to leave now. And he wanted Kurogane to come with him.

"This is still my country."

"Kurogane..." Tears were still running hotly down his cheeks. "Please. Please, I don't want you to die."

"I. Can't." Short, concise, and sure.

"Please?" Begging.

"No." Slightly sad.

"I...I...I _need_ you, though." Desperate, broken - tons of emotion and unspoken traumas and begging in his voice as it quavered and tears collected under his chin.

"I'll still be here when you comes back, moron." Slightly condescending, like a child.

"He'll kill you - he'll kill me." Hysterical.

"I know, idiot." Self-less.

"..._You're_ the idiot." _For staying here while I have to leave._

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_Replace 'need' with 'love' if you want the other form of shipping - the more straight forward one...Anyway, enjoy~_


	7. Epilogue

**..::Reign::..**

.:Yuuko's Tokyo:.

Fai dislikes the feeling of traveling between worlds. It is tight, constricting and heated. Landing has always been difficult, but this time his feet make smooth contact with the stone walk-way of the Dimensional Witch - the one who had given Sakura-chan her Mokona, and yet had never attended the Celes Ball. There is...

A young Syaoran. Sleeping Sakura. And...Kurogane.

In the first world they jump to, both of the children are sleeping in each others arms in the middle of an otherwise deserted paved road. Fai, blinking, sits up, feeling weighted and sore from the taxation he'd put on his body just to get to the witch. He's just stopped yawning and stretching when there is a scoff behind him and a false smile immediately jumps onto his mouth.

"What is it?" he asks calmly, turning to look at Kurogane's double with the polite indifference of total strangers. This is no longer the little boy grappling for a necklace in the snow.

The warrior's nose is wrinkled in distaste. "How old are you?"

Fai shrugs. "Dunno. How old are you?"

"Twenty-seven."

"I'm twenty-eight in your years." He let out an easy chuckle. "What's your name?"

He huffed moodily. "Kurogane."

"That's a funny name," the blond teased almost coyly. "Long, too."

"It is not!"

"Can I call you Kuro-chuu?"

"Wha -"

"Kuro-woof?"

"Mage!"

"Kuro-sword?"

"What the hell -"

"Kuro-push?"

"No, no - none of these!" It's cute how red in the face the otherwise tanned man can become. But still...

Fai dislikes the feeling of traveling between worlds. He hates the familiar faces, the inability to properly communicate his pre-defined feelings (with Chii, his companions, everyone else). But, this way, he doesn't feel as if he's lost everything.

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_There you have it~! ^^ The ending - hope it didn't dissapoint. I suppose, now...this story is only minor AU? xDD Anyway, drop reviews~! Please! 8D_


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